The present disclosure relates generally to health and nutrition. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to nutritional compositions having a targeted level of sodium for young children and methods of making and using the nutritional compositions. Methods for reducing the sodium content of nutritional compositions are also provided.
There are many types of nutritional compositions currently on the market. Nutritional compositions can be targeted toward certain populations or consumer groups, for example, young, elderly, athletic, etc., based on the specific foods and/or other ingredients in the nutritional composition. It is important to provide well-rounded and nutritious diets to growing young children (e.g., toddlers) to help them meet their daily micro- and macro-nutrient requirements, while limiting the intake of certain nutrients. However, taste and texture are extremely important in getting young children to consume nutritious foods. Indeed, administration of such nutritional compositions can be particularly problematic when the intended consumer is a child or toddler with selective eating habits.
One goal of nutritional support, therefore, is to provide young children with developmentally appropriate nutritional compositions that meet their taste requirements, while meeting targeted levels of sodium, and providing the macronutrients and micronutrients needed in a child's daily diet. Another goal of nutritional support is to provide manufacturing methods for producing nutritional compositions having the targeted amounts of sodium with acceptable flavor profiles.